Chief among the Celtics' highly valued players are recent No. 3 overall picks Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, both of whom are still on their rookie-scale contracts. Tatum recently acknowledged his potential inclusion in a deal for Davis, stating he wished to remain with Boston for his "whole career."

The Celtics have plenty of additional trade sweeteners beyond their young wings, including all of their draft picks from 2020 onward.

They also hold one of the Memphis Grizzlies' first-round picks in 2019, 2020, or 2021, according to Pro Sports Transactions. The Grizzlies' first-round pick in 2019 is top-eight protected and their 2020 first-rounder is top-six protected. If both picks fall into protected range, the Celtics will get Memphis' unprotected first-round selection in 2021.

Boston couldn't trade for Davis ahead of the Feb. 7 deadline because teams can't acquire more than one player who signed a designated rookie extension with another team; Irving inked his current deal with the Cleveland Cavaliers prior to being traded to the Celtics and Davis is under the same contract structure with the Pelicans.

But that restriction will no longer apply once Irving becomes a free agent on July 1, potentially allowing the Celtics to trade for Davis before re-signing Irving.

Davis is signed through the 2019-20 season, after which he is expected to enter free agency.